FRIDAY, NOV. 3
Bob Dylan
When singer-songwriter Bob Dylan played E.J. Thomas Hall four years ago, he appeared to truly enjoy performing at the intimate space. The show's opener “Things Have Changed” set the mood for the two-hour concert. Standing at the microphone stand and swaying back and forth under dim lights as if he was a boxer who’d already been through a few tough rounds of fighting, Dylan cast a spell as he sang in a voice so raspy, it made him sound a bit like Tom Waits. “I used to care, but things have changed” he hissed. That ominous feeling carried over into the rest of the set. The performance enthralled the capacity crowd that, if anything, treated the performance with too much reverence (only a few patrons bothered to try to dance or clap along to the tunes). Expect him to put on a similarly captivating show tonight. (Jeff Niesel), 7:30 p.m. E.J. Thomas Hall.
SATURDAY, NOV. 4
The Village Bicycle/Extra Medium Pony/Longface/Sweepyheads
The Village Bicycle bandleader Liz Kelly can lay claim to the fact that she was one of only a handful of women to be part of the locally based Davenport Collective, a loosely organized community of artists, musicians and poets who worked out of a studio space in a Lakewood office building. She played in the Dreadful Yawns, a terrific local indie rock act, as well as other groups. Eventually, in 2010, she started her own damn band with keyboardist Karah Vance, dubbing it the Village Bicycle. Since forming, the band has shared bills with acts such as Bleached, the Black Belles, Gardens and Villa, Cloud Nothings, Death of Samantha, Rubblebucket, La Luz, the Suzan and Herzog. The band’s new album, Terraforma, which opens with the noisy “Dog Heaven,” is its best yet. Tonight’s show serves as a kick off for a Midwest tour. (Niesel) 9 p.m., $5. Happy Dog.
Won't Back Down: A NEO Celebration of the Music of Tom Petty
Locals Becky Boyd, Shanna Delaney, Ray Flanagan, John Patrick Halling, Angie Haze, Corey King, Brent Kirby, Jeff Klemm, Brian Lisik, Cody J. Martin, Daniel Monea, Gretchen E. Pleuss, Marc Lee Shannon, Tracey Thomas, White Buffalo Woman and Zach Freidhof will join singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert and an all-star house band featuring John Anthony and Erin Vaughn on guitars, Paul Lewis on bass, Ed Davis on drums, Russell Flanagan on keys and Emily Bates on harmony vocals. Proceeds will benefit the Summit FM's Music Alive and Rock and Recovery programs. (Niesel) 8 p.m. E.J. Thomas Hall.
Victor Wooten Trio
Victor Wooten is known and beloved in circles throughout the music world. He's won multiple Grammys while leaving his imprint on projects throughout the American rock and jazz scenes. As a founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Wooten has had a visible platform from which to jump to solo works, music camps and the world of books. Wooten's latest album, TRYPNOTYX, sees him working a new trio with drummer Dennis Chambers and saxophonist Bob Franceschini. Expect to hear at least of handful of tunes from it at tonight’s show. (Eric Sandy) 8 p.m., $30.50-$80. Beachland Ballroom.
SUNDAY, NOV. 5
A Boogie wit Da Hoodie/Tk Kravitz
A Boogie wit da Hoodie/TK Kravitz: A Boogie wit da Hoodie, real name Artist Dubose, is a rapper in the fast line. In the past two years, he's gone form Bronx obscurity to signing with Atlantic and opening for hip-hop's hugest stars, Future and Drake. And like those artists, A Boogie makes the sort of sing-songy and syrapy tunes that rule the airwaves these days. He switches between Auto-Tune lines and lethargic raps with the best of 'em. So far, his single "Drowning," off his debut album The Bigger Artist, is the closest he's gotten to prominence — it cracked the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. But as the guy is only 21, he just needs a little time to hone his distinct sound. Let's see what he can do with another two years. (Laura Morrison), 7 p.m., $27.50 ADV, $30 DOS. The Agora Theatre.
David Crosby & Friends
Sky Trails, the latest effort from singer David Crosby, finds the Rock Hall Inductee ruminating on a variety of subjects and as always, never afraid to share what’s on his mind. Fans got an unexpected bit of new music from Crosby in January of this year, when he took to Twitter and announced, “I think I’m actually going to do this new song about our shameful U.S. Congress. Going to mix it day after tomorrow and post it here.” True to his word, “Capitol,” which appears on the new album, emerged on Soundcloud two days later. A collaboration with Michael McDonald on “Before Tomorrow Falls on Love” found Crosby reaching out to his neighbor, to come write a song. Expect to hear songs from the album along with the CSNY classic "Ohio" at tonight's show. (Matt Wardlaw) 7:30 p.m., $66-$609. The Kent Stage.
